Complementary and alternative interventions are becoming increasingly utilized as adjuncts to conventional treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). While the number of studies continues to grow, the vastness of the subject coupled with the relatively poor quality and small size of the studies limit their usefulness to clinicians. Careful review of the literature reveals several promising therapies in this domain; such findings may help direct further research that is necessary to bolster clinical recommendations for alternative or complementary treatments of AD.
Low-FODMAP rye bread helps IBS patients to control their symptoms and reduces gastrointestinal gas accumulation. However, replacing regular rye bread by low-FODMAP bread without concomitant broader dietary changes does not improve quality of life or IBS-SSS. Nonetheless, inclusion of low-FODMAP rye bread in diet might be one way that IBS patients could increase their fibre intake. Read more here.
Gut microflora and dysbiosis as an environmental factor has been linked to the pathogenesis of enthesitis-related-arthritis (JIA-ERA). Thus we did a proof-of-concept study of probiotics to modulate the gut-flora and study the effects on immune and clinical parameters of children having JIA-ERA.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is popular among individuals with a variety of addictions. A large number of SRs exist in the area of addiction. The evidence from SRs examining the effectiveness of various CAM interventions for myriad addictions is highly ambiguous or negative.
Numerous experimental studies have demonstrated that acupuncture can correct various metabolic disorders such as hyperglycaemia, overweight, hyperphagia, hyperlipidaemia, inflammation, altered activity of the sympathetic nervous system, and insulin signalling defects, all of which contribute to the development of insulin resistance. Read more here.
Insomnia is the common complaint among patients with stroke. Acupuncture has increasingly been used for insomnia relief after stroke. The aim of the present study was to summarize and evaluate evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving insomnia after stroke. Read more here.
There is limited research investigating the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiota in individuals with Coeliac disease reporting only partial symptom improvement despite adherence to a strict gluten free diet. The aim of this research was to determine if the gastrointestinal microbiota could be altered by probiotic bacteria and provide a potential new therapy for this sub-group. Read more here.
Studies revealed that metabolic factors might contribute substantially to Osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis. There has been an increasing interest to understand the relationship between knee OA and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The purpose of this study was to explore the association between metabolic syndrome and knee osteoarthritis using meta-analysis. Methods: Databases, including PUBMED, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library were searched to get relevant studies. Data were extracted separately by two authors and pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated.
Qili Qiangxin capsule is a standardized Chinese herbal treatment that is commonly used in China for heart failure (HF) alongside conventional medical care. In 2014, Chinese guidelines for the treatment of chronic HF highlighted Qili Qiangxin capsules as a potentially effective medicine. However, there is at present no high quality review to evaluate the effects and safety of Qili Qiangxin for patients with HF. Read more here.
Chronic migraine is a disabling condition that impacts multiple aspects of migraineurs’ lives. Although pharmacological treatments can help to treat the pain associated with migraine headache, chronic migraineurs often experience side-effects of pharmacological treatments. Those experiences may contribute to the observed growth in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among migraineurs. Relatively little is known about the patterns of CAM treatment and the characteristics of chronic migraineurs.
